Actress Katie Leung, who is best known for portraying the role of Cho Chang in the Harry Potter franchise, has spoken about experiencing racism on the internet while filming the extremely popular fantasy series. During a recent interview, the actress recalled how she spotted several racist messages on a fan website during a random online search.

Leung was cast in 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when she was only 16 years old. Claiming to have no media training at the time, Leung revealed to the “Chinese Chippy Girl‬” podcast that she was advised by the publicists to deny that the racist attacks were happening if she was ever asked, even though she had personally seen the words online. As a newcomer in the industry, Leung agreed. 

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There has been no official comment on Leung’s claims from Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio behind the record-breaking movie franchise based on J.K. Rowling’s books. The actress, now 33, did not mention in her interview whether the publicists who offered the advice worked for the studio or were personal agents. This is also not the first time that Leung has spoken up about experiencing racism. In interviews conducted in 2016, she had spoken of hate campaigns initiated by “Potterheads” when Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix released. This included an entire “I Hate Katie” website that had participants posting racist comments against the actress. The Scottish-born actress of Chinese descent auditioned for the role of Cho Chang after her father found an advertisement for a casting call for the Goblet of Fire. More than 3,000 people showed up for the audition and Leung is “grateful” that she was offered the role.

The Harry Potter books and movies became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon when they were released. The first book in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, came out in 1997, which started the franchise’s journey to extreme popularity. Even before the movies came to fruition, fans of the series would spend hours waiting in line outside book stores to buy copies of the latest installment as soon as they went on sale. The movies then mostly stuck to the story told in the books to bring the Wizarding World to a wider audience.

Leung appears in the films opposite Daniel Radcliffe as the lead wizard’s love interest. Apart from her first appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Leung was featured in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the two parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. After her run as Cho Chang in the Harry Potter franchise, Leung has appeared in films like The Foreigner with Jackie Chan and Locked Down with Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor. She has also worked in theater and appeared in several TV shows, including The Nest and White Dragon.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is now available on Amazon Prime Video.

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Source: Chinese Chippy Girl